Soul Sister Texas Reunion

You may recall that in the summer of 2021 I hosted what I coined the “Soul Sister Summer Retreat” (in Dalyan), and which I wrote about in Shift 3 of my The Shifts of Summer blog post two years before. I have a number of girlfriends around the globe that I consider my “soul sisters” and with whom I share a deep and authentic friendship. To be perfectly honest, since watching an episode of “Sex and the City” many years ago in which the characters declare themselves as one another soulmates, I have strongly agreed with that assessment. I don’t believe in the romantic coupling of soulmates. But, that’s just my opinion!

I have “soul sisters” currently living in Canada, the U.S., in Australia, in Europe, in Saudi Arabia, and here in Türkiye. They are of diverse nationalities and races; more often than not they are relatively close to me in age–maybe 6-8 years younger, or up to 10 years older. Some have grown children, a few have young children, a couple of them, like me, have no biological kids. But what we have in common is our authenticity and willingness to be vulnerable with one another. We celebrate one another’s successes and listen and support one another through our life challenges and disappointments.

I’m fortunate that two of my U.S. soul sisters were willing to buy a plane ticket to come and see me while I was in Texas this summer. I arrived a week before the Caveney Clan Reunion (previous blog post) in order to share in precious girlfriend time, as well as hang out with my brother and his family, and of course to accomplish the traditional “stock up on American products” shopping outings.

First my friend EJ came from South Carolina on Sunday morning (I had arrived on Friday night). We had our couple of days together which we spent doing a variety of things–I got a perm, she had a pedicure; we went out to lunch in Conroe (we highly recommend the Red Brick Tavern there in the little downtown area); she accompanied me on shopping errands like the customary Walmart shop; and we shared numerous conversations over coffee in the morning and cocktails in the evenings. We enjoyed an afternoon of day drinking in the pool. It was soul affirming to be face to face again after two years apart. We live worlds apart and we are in very different stages of life, but our friendship remains strong and true, and we look forward to spending time together again in the future. Until then it is WhatsApp communication to stay abreast of one another’s lives.

Then on Tuesday night Julie (and her husband Eric) arrived from Colorado. I’ve known both of them for years. Eric only stayed the one night and following day–we went out for BBQ–before heading off on a guys golfing trip with a classmate that also lives in Texas.

This gave the three of us gals two full days together. Julie and EJ had met in Dalyan two summers prior (along with my sister Fawn and her friend Sue–the five of us spent an amazing two weeks together). As we are all teachers and women in our 40s there is no shortage of intersection points across our lives. We caught up on our respective lives–though we DO also stay in touch via a shared WhatsApp group that we established in the summer of 2021. We enjoyed watching the movie, “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret,” together in my brother’s home theater (along with him and his family, of course). A perfect callback to our younger days and one which also provided a variety of conversation topics.

My sister-in-law, Angi, took us to a wonderful second-hand store, Style Encore, and we ALL tried on and purchased some new (used) clothes. The store had a variety of brands available, many of which that were of very good quality. I’m already wearing many of my pieces in these initial back-to-school weeks. We each used Angi’s box of “The One Thing: Core Values” to determine our top three values and had numerous conversations around this topic. How our lives were, or were not, aligned with those values, and what we wanted to change or adjust moving into a new school year.

EJ left on Thursday afternoon and then Julie and I shared precious one-on-one time as well, culminating with a concert on Friday night to see Matchbox Twenty, a favorite band for both of us. We went along with my brother, his wife, and two other women from the neighborhood. Matt Nathanson was the opening act (also good). It was terribly hot and humid in the the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion there in The Woodlands–but with a couple of drinks, you forgot about the sweating and enjoyed the AMAZING show that Rob Thomas and the rest of the band put on. We sang, we danced, we cheered. It was an epic night out with a longtime and dear friend. 💛

Upon arriving home to my brother’s house, my sister Fawn had arrived. Fawn is also a soul sister AND met Julie and EJ in Dalyan in 2021. We only had a short time together that night and the following morning before Julie left to be with Eric and their classmates that lived a town away.

Julie and I were sad to say goodbye, BUT we were most grateful for the precious time together AND we already have plans to spend time together next summer (2024), once again here in Türkiye, this time with Eric accompanying her, as well as hopefully another couple from America who will be venturing here for the first time (I LOVE sharing the beauty and joy of Türkiye with others!).

As Julie departed, my family members began arriving and the Caveney Clan Summer Reunion was in full swing in no time at all. I have to thank my brother and his family for allowing me to treat their home as if it was my own. As someone who lives abroad and does not have a “home” in America, it can be expensive to rent places and cars. I had to do neither on this trip and it was a huge savings.

More importantly, it was enjoyable to have such a comfortable home to vacation in (honestly, it felt like we were at a resort!)–the soul sisters had a pool, a terrace, a bar and a movie theater to enjoy, in addition to the comfortable living spaces. Also, thanks for the loan of a vehicle to accomplish my shopping tasks! Your home truly felt like my home for the two weeks I was there. And your children–my niece and nephew–were accommodating and kind as well. My friends loved and appreciated you all. 🙏🏼 ❤️

This wraps up the American leg of my summer break (and only covers the first two weeks of nine). I’ll be back soon–hopefully–to share with you about the rest of my summer adventures. Until then, hope you are all well!